University of Konoha (Modern Naruto Various)

Chapter 8

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock going off. I groaned and shut it off. I sat up with a yawn and blearily blinked my eyes open. Wait, wasn't I at the Akatsuki's? I struggled through my foggy memories. I remember falling asleep during the movie and then... "Good morning Asami." I looked up to see Hinata looking at me. "Hey Hinata, how did I get back here?" "You don't remember? Obito brought you home." He did? Oh no! I suddenly remembered when Obito was carrying me. I struggled to contain the blush that rose to my cheeks. "That's embarrassing," I mumbled. "A-Asami?" Hinata whispered. "Yeah?" "Have you met Obito somewhere before?" she asked softly. "Oh! Yeah. We were childhood friends when we were really little. This was before my parents died." "Oh," she said. I could see the click of pieces coming together in her mind. "Why do you ask?" "It's nothing. He just seemed... really familiar towards you. That's all." I raised an eyebrow at her but she said nothing more. I let it slip from my mind as I got ready for the day. As we met with the other girls in the hallway, I noticed Temari wasn't with them. I sighed. She must still be mad at me. "Don't worry about it Asami. She'll come around," Tenten said. "Yeah, she can be harsh sometimes but she won't stay mad at you for long," Ino spoke. "Thanks," I said. Hinata and I arrived at our first class. "Asami, my beauty! You look as pretty as a flower today!" Lee shouted as I sat down. I noticed Neji doing a facepalm. "Thanks, Lee. That's very sweet of you." I smiled at him. I noticed Shikamaru leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed. "Morning Shikamaru," I called to him. He opened his eyes and yawned. "Mornings are such a drag," he answered but he gave me a small smile.

I felt a presence to my right and looked over. I saw Obito standing next to my desk. I blushed slightly when I saw him. "Hi Obito." "Good morning Asami. Remember how I was talking to you about PAL's yesterday?" I nodded. "Well I was wondering if you would like to come with me to meet them during lunch today." I perked up. "Sure. I would love to." "Ok. I'll pick you up then. Can you give me your number?" I nodded and recited my number to him. I heard the tone from my phone signaling that I got a message. I turned on my phone and looked at the message. It's Obito. Now you have my number. You have art class with Deidara and Sasori right? I looked up at him. "Yeah, I do." He nodded. "Then I'll pick you up after that class. See you then." He walked to his seat in the back of the classroom. I turned back to the others. "He said PAL's right?" Neji asked. I nodded. "Guy-sensei is part of that group! He is a great mentor!" Lee exclaimed. "Guy-sensei?" I questioned. "Yeah. He's basically an older version of Lee. You could swear they're brothers or something," Shikamaru told me. I tried to picture Lee with an older version of him. "That sounds...." "Exhausting," Neji filled in for me. I laughed at his comment. "You seem to be making friends very quickly," Hinata told me. I pondered that for a moment. "Huh, I guess I am." "It's hard to believe that you had trouble making friends before. You're certainly very popular here," Neji said. "I am?" I asked with surprise. The boys looked equally surprised at my question. Before anyone could answer, the teacher had called for the class's attention.

At the end of class, Neji walked with me again. Guess this has become a routine now. "Am I really that popular?" I asked Neji. "Do you not see it?" "No. I guess I just don't understand why," I mused. Neji came to a sudden stop and grabbed my shoulders. He turned me to face him. "Asami, how can you not be popular? You're beautiful, smart, strong willed, modest, and kind. Not only that but you've obviously been through some rough patches in your life and yet you still remain positive and good-natured. Any guy would be tripping over themselves just to get your attention." He seemed to realize the full extent of what he said and blushed a deep red. He let go of my shoulders and continued walking. I stood there for a minute in shock before I ran after him. "I didn't realize you guys saw me like that. Thank you for the compliments." "Your welcome." Then- "I just wish there wasn't so much competition," He mumbled under his breath. "What was that?" I questioned. "Nothing. Have fun with your PAL's meeting." "Thanks." I waved to him and walked into the classroom.

I had a few minutes before class started, so I decided to say hello to Hidan and Kakazu since I knew them now. "Hey guys, how's it going?" "Asami! I just had a great idea. I think the Akatsuki should host a party this Saturday night but this bastard says it'll be too expensive." "A party huh? Well if it helps, my uncle knows a good DJ that will give a really good deal. I can call him if you want." "That alone could reduce the expenses significantly," Kakuzu stated. "I might also know a good party lighting company that will give me a special family deal." "See! Asami's got it all taken care of. Now will you let us host the party?" Hidan questioned. Kakuzu nodded. "By the way, how is it that you have so many connections?" Kakuzu asked. "With my uncle being an archaeologist, we traveled around and met a lot of people. You wouldn't believe how many parties we attended. Most of them were pretty high society though. It was a good way for my uncle to receive funding for new dig sites and also inform some potential buyers of his findings." "You're going to come to the party this Saturday right?" Hidan asked me. "Well, why not? I think this will be the first time I've gone to a party where the point is to have fun." "Great! Then it's settled. We'll have the party of our damn lives!" I laughed a little and went over to my seat. Naruto and Tenten were both giving me questioning looks. "What was that about?" Naruto asked. "Oh, apparently the Akatsuki have decided to host a party this Saturday and I've been invited." "A party at the Akatsuki's? Are you sure you want to go?" Tenten asked me. "Yeah. I think it would be a blast. I was at their place last night. Hidan was a bit rowdy but I was just fine and I think they're good people." I realized I still hadn't figured out what the incident between Gaara and the Akatsuki was but I didn't want to be rude and question them about it just yet. The teacher finally arrived and class started. Near the end of class, the teacher was telling us about a new assignment she wanted us to do. Halfway through her explanation, Hidan of course started raising protests and badmouthing. "Hidan!" I yelled. He looked to see that I was giving a very pointed stare. 'Don't make me' I mouthed at him. That shut him up. He stayed quiet for the rest of the class.

At the end of class, Naruto, Sasuke, and Tenten walked with me. "I've never seen Hidan go quiet like that. How did you do that?" Naruto asked. "Oh that?" I laughed. "I just showed Hidan some of my Aikido moves. He knows now that I am capable of kicking his butt if need be." They looked at me with shocked expressions. Then Sasuke smirked. "Who knew that Asami could be such a badass."